The Gordon Research Conference on Bones and Teeth originated in 1954 and has a distinguished history as a proving ground for new ideas in the field of skeletal research and the study of calciotropic hormones and how they relate to bone biology. The Bones and Teeth Conference is unique in the breadth and depth of its coverage of new developments in the physiology and molecular biology of cartilage, bones, and teeth. The Gordon Research Conference format differs from virtually all other scientific meetings in providing an extensive opportunity for open, free, and informal discussion. The number of participants is limited to about 130, and attendees include international leaders in the field from both academic and industrial sector, young investigators, post-doctoral fellows and students. The success of the Gordon Conference as a forum for the discussion of state-of-the-art research advances is attributable to its limited size, geographical isolation and overall structure. The 2005 Conference will focus on areas in which important new developments have occurred within the past two years. It will include sessions on: new developments; transcriptional control of bone cell differentiation and function; stem cells in mineralized tissues; mineral homeostasis and calcification; teeth/craniofacial biology; signaling/cytokines; osteoclasts/bone resorption; and skeletal anabolic agents. The discussion leaders and speakers selected to date are among the finest investigators in the international community of bone biologists. The keynote address speaker is one of the world's foremost forensic scientists who will address a peripheral topic that is bound to capture the interest of participants: the use of DNA-based methodology in forensic medicine. The purpose of this proposal is to request funds to defray the costs of speakers' registration and subsistence. These funds, if granted, will aid immeasurably in allowing the Gordon Research Conference to fulfill its function to stimulate further creativity in bone, cartilage and tooth research.